


if you ever come back

by kamunamis



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, Fluff, Light Angst, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Reunited and It Feels So Good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:34:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23884585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kamunamis/pseuds/kamunamis
Summary: “How was your day?” Natsuya asks, slurring through his words.“It was alright,” Nao says simply. He wants to say that it would be better if Natsuya were home, but he doesn’t.“What about you? How was your day?” Nao says instead.Natsuya hums for a minute. “I was on a plane for most of it. Airplanes are too crowded.”a fic about long distance
Relationships: Kirishima Natsuya/Serizawa Nao
Comments: 3
Kudos: 42





	if you ever come back

**Author's Note:**

> aaa a fic that's like,,, two months late oops  
> anyway, [sage](https://sagesprouts.tumblr.com) had 'if you ever come back' by the script on their playlist and i had to write about it hehe  
> thanks [tara](https://itsmyusualweeb.tumblr.com) for beta'ing

Nao is woken up by his phone going off at an ungodly hour, and he already knows who it is before picking it up. His body is telling him that he needs the sleep. He has work in the morning and it’s going to be a long shift, but his heart is telling him to pick up the phone, and Nao knows that he’s not strong enough to ignore the ringing.

He sits up and turns on the lamp by his bedside before he answers.

“Natsuya, it’s late,” Nao gently scolds. “Did you even think about checking the time zone in Japan before calling?”

Natsuya groans, and Nao can immediately tell that he’s drunk. “Aw, babe, don’t be like that. aren’t you glad that I called?”

It’s the first time Natsuya’s called in a few weeks, so of course he’s glad, ecstatic even. But he wouldn’t dare admit it out loud, not when he’s pretending to be mad at him for waking him up.

“How was your day?” Natsuya asks, slurring through his words.

“It was alright,” Nao says simply. He wants to say that it would be better if Natsuya were home, but he doesn’t.

“What about you? How was your day?” Nao says instead.

Natsuya hums for a minute. “I was on a plane for most of it. Airplanes are too crowded.”

“Would be better if you were here though,” he mentions. It’s as if he knows exactly what Nao’s thinking about, despite being drunk, and maybe he does. They’ve been together since they were barely teenagers, it would be weirder if he  _ didn’t  _ know what Nao’s thinking.

Nao’s thought about dropping everything just to be with Natsuya, especially on days where he misses him the most, but Nao likes having order and balance in his life. He knows that traveling the way Natsuya does wouldn’t be enjoyable for him because of this.

He dreams of a time where he won’t have to worry about Natsuya, because Natsuya will be right there and everything will be fine between them. He dreams of a time when they’re married and have a few kids of their own.

They've talked about settling down and getting married before, when they were fresh out of high school. Of course, they were both eighteen and reckless then, but they still feel the same way about each other six years later.

Nao wants Natsuya to just come home already, even if it’s for a night. He knows Natsuya isn’t ready to settle down yet, and he would feel guilty if Natsuya drops everything just for him. He knows Natsuya would stop traveling the minute he asked, but they’re still young, and Natsuya should experience the world while he can.

Nao ignores him and changes the subject. “Have you been eating well? Don’t drink too much.”

“You sound like my mother,” Natsuya laughs. “I’m fine, though. you worry too much.”

He really does worry, but he can’t help it. Most of the time, Nao doesn’t know where Natsuya is or how he’s doing.

Nao just sighs. “Goodnight, Natsuya.”

“The key’s still under the mat if you ever want to come home, love,” he says before hanging up.

Nao can’t remember when he started ending his calls like that, or when he started to leave his key under the welcome mat. It's basically his way of saying that he loves him and that he’s always going to welcome him. It might be the worst place to put the key, but Nao doesn’t care. 

As expected, Nao wakes up grumpy the next morning due to the lack of sleep. It's times like these when he wonders why Natsuya influences him so much, and how he’s still managed to get a grip on him even though he’s thousands of miles away.

-

Natsuya’s not-so-little brother Ikuya is sitting with Nao in the kitchen while he’s opening the mail.

“Oh, by the way,” Ikuya says. “There was a posting outside about an apartment that’s closer to your work and it’s cheaper than here. I thought I would give you the contact information.”

Ikuya hands him the paper, and Nao just hums before throwing it in the ‘recycling’ pile.

Ikuya looks at him with narrowed eyes, trying to figure out why Nao had done that. Nao has been complaining about his house for ages, there’s no reason why he should turn this opportunity down.

“You’re waiting for Aniki to come back, huh?” he says once he figures it out. “You know that he won’t, he hasn’t come home in ages, why do you still bother with him?”

_ Because I love him _ , Nao wants to say, even though he knows it won’t do much good. Ikuya gave up on his brother coming back to Japan a long time ago.

He’ll always be drawn to Natsuya and his chaotic nature, even if everyone tells him not to be. Nao’s spent his whole life wanting to be in control and to be completely perfect, but ever since Natsuya came into his life, he’s learned to appreciate the chaos. 

Maybe he sounds a little bit codependent on Natsuya in that regard, but really, Nao doesn’t care. He still has hope that Natsuya will come home.

-

“How’s Natsuya-senpai doing?” Makoto asks him one morning. “Are you two still together?”

Nao nods. “yeah, we are. why?”

“Just wondering. I haven’t seen him in a while. Haru-chan’s training in America for the Olympics, and I miss him,” Makoto complains. “How do you handle long-distance?”

Truthfully, he doesn’t. Nao doesn’t ever talk about it, and he prefers to keep everything to himself. He knows he should work on that, but talking about Natsuya makes him sad.

Sometimes Nao will have doubts that it wouldn’t matter whether or not he’s traveling with Natsuya; that Natsuya is happier without him. They’re foolish worries, but Nao can’t help but think about it whenever he misses Natsuya most.

“Nao-senpai?”

Nao looks up to see Makoto looking at him strangely. “Are you okay?”

“Just thinking,” Nao says.

“I’m gonna head off to the pool now, feel free to join in before your class if you want,” Makoto says. Nao just nods in response before getting ready.

Later that night, Nao finds a package outside his door from Natsuya. Probably a souvenir, Nao thinks. He’s gotten a souvenir for every place that Natsuya’s visited, and although he tells others that it’s just clutter he hasn’t gotten rid of, deep down he appreciates the gifts with his whole heart.

Whatever worries he had earlier that day have subsided with this reassurance that Natsuya still loves him and thinks about him. 

-

Nao knows that Natsuya will come back to him when the time is right. Even then, he can’t help but feel extremely lonely.

He doesn't know why  _ today  _ of all days he feels so lonely, but there was a couple that kissed on the train that morning before he went to work, and Nao ended up crying at the sight of it.

_ Get it together _ , Nao scolds himself, splashing water on his face.  _ This is what you agreed to, right? That he would travel now while he’s still young?  _

Despite Natsuya telling him that he would come home the minute Nao told him to, Nao would feel guilty if he took Natsuya’s dream away from him.

Nao sighs and exits the bathroom.

“Are you okay?” Makoto asks. “You can always talk to me, Nao-senpai.”

Nao forces a smile. “yeah, i’m alright. thanks for the concern.”

Later that evening, Nao finds a package on his doorstep.

“i didn’t order anything?” Nao tells himself, but it comes out more as a question. He has a feeling he knows who it’s from, so he doesn’t end up checking the return address before bringing the box inside. Natsuya sent him something recently, so he’s wondering why there’s another one. Nao doesn’t think too much of it, a gift from Natsuya is still a gift.

he digs through his drawers to find the box cutter, and he opens it.

A stuffed rabbit holding a red heart that says ‘I love you’ on it. Underneath, there’s an envelope, and Nao opens the card.

_ i love you, happy anniversary - Natsuya _

It’s messy kanji that Nao can barely read, but he thinks it’s perfect, especially since it’s from Natsuya. he ends up crying again, even harder than earlier. He feels awful for forgetting their anniversary, and he curses Natsuya under his breath for being so damn considerate despite not being near him.

Nao has almost always had control over his life, and yet, this was one of the few things that Nao could not control at all.

He texts Natsuya a quick  _ Thank you, happy anniversary _ before going to bed, and cuddles the stuffed rabbit as he sleeps.

-

He gets another phone call a few days later, this time at a much more reasonable hour. Nao is on his way home from work that evening when the phone rings, and he pulls over into a parking lot to pick it up.

“Hey, love, what’s up?” Nao asks, slightly wavering. he still feels incredibly lonely without Natsuya here, but he tries not to think about it too much, otherwise he’s going to start crying again. Nao doesn’t want Natsuya to know how lonely he is.

“You got my present! Sorry it took me so long to call you back,” Natsuya says. Nao can hear him say something else, but it’s hard to understand him, there’s a lot of background noise behind him, but Nao doesn’t care.

“No, you’re fine,” Nao reassures him. He doesn’t want to tell Natsuya that he’s been a mess without him. 

“Oh, crap, I have to go now,” Natsuya says, panicked. “I’ll talk to you later, bye, I love you!”

“Love - ” Nao starts, but the phone beeps before he can finish, “you too…”

-

Later that night, Nao’s woken up by the sound of things thrashing around. He doesn’t bother getting up, hoping that it’s just the rats roaming the garbage cans outside again. 

But then he hears the whistling, and the bags dropping to the ground. The smell of cologne suddenly drifts into the room, and Nao can’t help but smile.

_ Natsuya’s home _ , he tells himself, and suddenly he’s wide awake. 

He feels a dip in the bed, and a pair of hands resting on his shoulder. Natsuya leans in to kiss Nao’s cheek.

“Welcome home,” Nao says softly.

Natsuya chuckles. “I missed you.”

“Missed you too.”

Nao can hear Natsuya throw his shirt to the floor, and Nao rolls his eyes knowing that he’s going to have to nag him about it in the morning, but right now he’s content with having Natsuya around. 

“Good, cause I’m never leaving,” Natsuya says as he wraps his arms around Nao’s waist and pulls Nao closer to him.

Nao can feel the warmth of his bare chest, and he laughs. “I’ll believe it when I see it, love.”

There’s a possibility that Natsuya is being serious this time, considering that he’s  _ actually here _ , but Nao doesn’t want to get his hopes up. Time and time again, Natsuya has made promises only to not follow up on them.  _ They’re older now though _ , Nao reminds himself.  _ Things have changed. _

“I'm being serious,” Natsuya says. “I’m staying. didn’t I tell you over the phone? oh well, it was pretty loud on the plane when i called you.”

Nao raises an eyebrow, confused, until realization washes over him.  _ So that’s what he was saying earlier. _

instead of saying anything about it, he just hums, pretending to be unconvinced. “Get some sleep.”

Nao doesn’t have to turn around to picture the pout on Natsuya’s face.

“Eh?” Natsuya whines. “I slept on the plane.”

“Well, I don’t care,” Nao mumbles. “ _ I _ need to sleep.”

Natsuya just laughs and leans in closer to Nao. “Alright.”

Nao falls asleep shortly after that, but when he wakes up the next morning, Natsuya’s arms are still wrapped around him. Despite being asleep, Natsuya still has a strong grip on him.

“Natsuya,” Nao says gently. “Natsuya, I have to go to work.”

Natsuya grumbles. “No, stay here.”

Nao turns his head to kiss Natsuya softly. “I’ll be back soon.”

“I’ll be here when you get back,” Natsuya says, sleepily. “I really mean it, angel.”

Nao runs a hand through Natsuya’s hair. “We can talk about it when I get home.”

He breaks free from Natsuya’s grip, kissing him softly once again before getting out of bed. Natsuya’s almost fallen asleep again, and after staring at Natsuya’s peaceful frame, Nao impulsively decides to stay at home with him instead.

Nao’s been miserable without Natsuya by his side, and now that Natsuya’s here, why would he pass up on the chance to be with him?

He reaches for his cellphone on the bedside table and dials a few numbers.

“Hey, Makoto?” Nao asks. “I won’t be coming in today. There’s...something else that needs my attention.”

Makoto laughs on the other end and tells him not to worry about it, that he’ll be fine without him, and Nao takes that as a sign to go ahead and lie in bed with his boyfriend. He deserves a lazy morning every once in a while.

Nao wraps his arms around Natsuya, and Natsuya grabs onto Nao’s hand.

“So you couldn’t resist me after all, huh?”

Nao sighs. “It’s not every day that my boyfriend declares he’s staying for good. Don’t make me regret it.”

“You say that as if you weren’t waiting for me every night,” Natsuya laughs.

Nao could get used to waking up like this every morning. It’s as if Natsuya had never even left in the first place.


End file.
